# Snake skin identification help



## jazz lady

I was walking my dogs in the woods yesterday and came across a rather large snake skin lying across the path.  How can I identify what kind of snake it came from?

Both dogs went nuts over it, sniffing it intently.  One then tried to bite the skin and growled at it.  Is this instinctive for dogs?


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## crabcake

try here :shrug:


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## Pete

*Re: Here is a clue for you...*



> _Originally posted by kwillia _
> *You can use the tail scales to determine if a snake is poisonous. The pit vipers (poisonous) have a single row of scales under the tail beginning at the *


* vent . Near the end of the tail, the single row will change into a double row. All others have single tail scales.  *

Is that a scientific term for something?


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## otter

> _Originally posted by jazz lady _
> * How can I identify what kind of snake it came from?
> *



Go back into the woods until you find the snake, pry open its mouth and see if there are little red spots in its throat. If there are no red spots, its probably a black snake, otherwise its poisonous.


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## Pete

Are you sure it is a snake skin and not a discarded troj.....nevermind.


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## Greg

Be glad this didn't happen.


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## jazz lady

*Re: Re: Snake skin identification help*



> _Originally posted by otter _
> *Go back into the woods until you find the snake, pry open its mouth and see if there are little red spots in its throat. If there are no red spots, its probably a black snake, otherwise its poisonous. *



I think this is a perfect job for an otter.  Please, please, purty please?  


  The new smilies are UP and here's the 'otter':


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## otter

*Re: Re: Re: Snake skin identification help*



> _Originally posted by jazz lady _
> *I think this is a perfect job for an otter.  Please, please, purty please?     *



 Resisting the urge to run down the hall and scream "The new smilies are here!!, the new smilies are here!!"


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## jazz lady

> _Originally posted by Pete _
> *Are you sure it is a snake skin and not a discarded troj.....nevermind. *



  If it was, I'd be hearing "Ho, ho, ho...Green Giant" around my house.


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## jazz lady

> _Originally posted by Greg _
> *Be glad this didn't happen. *



If it did, it would be the LAST time I go walking in the woods.

I just wanted to use all the new smilies:
        :tool:


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## Pete

> _Originally posted by jazz lady _
> *  If it was, I'd be hearing "Ho, ho, ho...Green Giant" around my house.   *



Did it have a lot # of 246654 from plant #432?


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## jazz lady

> _Originally posted by Pete _
> *Did it have a lot # of 246654 from plant #432? *



I'll bring it to you so you can find out.


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## Pete

> _Originally posted by jazz lady _
> *I'll bring it to you so you can find out.   *



nevermind, none of mine are unaccounted for.


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## James White

*Jazz Lady*

Jazz Lady,
Can you describe what it loked like in detail ??


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## jazz lady

*Re: Jazz Lady*



> _Originally posted by James White _
> *Jazz Lady,
> Can you describe what it loked like in detail ?? *


If it's still there, I'm going to get it and take a couple of pictures of it, then post them on here.

All I can tell you is it was about three feet long  and grayish in color.  I didn't really get too close to it.


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## jazz lady

*I saw that, kwillia!!!*


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## jazz lady

*Okay, here are the pictures...*

Number one is a picture of the full snakeskin, which is about 4 feet long.


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## jazz lady

Number two is a closeup of the skin so you can see the pattern.


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## jazz lady

Number three is another closeup shot of a different area of the skin.


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## cattitude

Dunno, Jazz.  Looks like the ones we find in our yard all the time.  We found one about 6 foot long a few years back.  It was perfect...no  tears, etc.  The face was amazing.  I'm sure the ones we find are from our black snakes.  That's what these look like but I didn't see the head part on yours.  Then again, I'm no snake expert either.


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## jazz lady

*Last picture*

My three amigos followed me into the woods.  

BTW - the tree across the path is one of the ones that came down due to Hurricane Isabel.


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## cattitude

Cool!  My kitties follow me (albeit stealthy) when I walk my dogs.  The guy in the background looks just like my Forrest...hmmmn...where are my pictures and let's see if I can get all the crap off the the dang scanner.....


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## jazz lady

> _Originally posted by cattitude _
> *Dunno, Jazz.  Looks like the ones we find in our yard all the time.  We found one about 6 foot long a few years back.  It was perfect...no  tears, etc.  The face was amazing.  I'm sure the ones we find are from our black snakes.  That's what these look like but I didn't see the head part on yours.  Then again, I'm no snake expert either. *



I figured it was most likely a black snake, but I haven't had many dealings with snakes closeup - well, at least the non-human variety.

In the first picture, the head is in the bottom left corner, but I didn't see any discernible features other than the shape of the head.


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## jazz lady

> _Originally posted by cattitude _
> *The guy in the background looks just like my Forrest...*


That one is Blaze - she's the oldest and is actually the second-cousin of the other two.  The one on the log is Trixie and her brother Scooter is in the foreground.  Scooter is almost twice the size of Trixie.  Scooter and Blaze are about the same, although I think Scooter is just a tad bigger now.


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## jazz lady

That's what I was afraid of!  Hurricane Isabel sucked up all the Black Mambas from Africa - the only continent they are found on btw - and deposited them in MY backyard!


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## Sharon

Maybe you'd better start a new tread so everyone will be warned.


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## otter

> _Originally posted by jazz lady _
> *  That's what I was afraid of!  Hurricane Isabel sucked up all the Black Mambas from Africa - the only continent they are found on btw - and deposited them in MY backyard!
> 
> *



Thats just another wild theroy from kw, its a black snake skin, don't listen to her and don't waste another tread on it


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## Sharon

*Walmart doesn't believe this one...*

BROWNWOOD, Texas -- Police say a man was bitten by a rattlesnake while shopping for shoes in a Wal-Mart store in Texas.

Douglas Hatchett of Brownwood was examining shoes on a rack when a rattlesnake concealed behind a shoebox bit him Monday. The snake fell to the floor, where Hatchett stomped it to death.

Police, fire and emergency medical crews were called to the scene.

The 31-year-old shopper and the dead snake were hustled to Brownwood Regional Medical Center. There, the snake was confirmed as a rattler, and Hatchett was treated and released.

Wal-Mart officials say the matter's being investigated and they have no comment.
___________________________

BROWNWOOD, Texas -- A Wal-Mart spokeswoman says a man's account of a rattlesnake bite doesn't add up.

Spokeswoman Sharon Webber says the company is still investigating the Monday incident at a Wal-Mart in Brownwood.

Douglas Hatchett says a two-foot rattler bit him in the hand when he reached for a pair of shoes on a store rack. He says the snake fell to the floor, where he stomped it to death.

Hatchett was taken to Brownwood Regional Medical Center, where he was treated with anti-venom and released.

A store official says police told him the snake didn't look freshly killed. Police still have the dead snake in a freezer, but the police chief says no investigation is planned.


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## Penn

*Dosen't one of our southern states....*

 ....have a motto "Don't tread on me"?

But what I really want to know is: Do snakes vent?


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## James White

*ID*

JazzLady

What you have there is a typical "Black Rat Snake " shed,
That is a nice clean shed to,If you still have it,and not broken ,Peopl over on taxidermy.com 
will pay you some good cash for it.


By the way it is not poisionous,But they sure can bite like heck.


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## vraiblonde

> _Originally posted by penncam _
> [BDo snakes vent?[/B]


 Yes.  And that's all I'm going to say about that.


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## Penn

> _Originally posted by vraiblonde _
> *Yes.  And that's all I'm going to say about that. *


 Oh no!! Wait just a minute!! You can't just jump in here, say that, and leave??!!

Doy stash ti masch te!!(Japanese- you can look it up)

"Do the females vent too??"

Or is it strictly a male thing?


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